Oregano

Makes 5 servings 10 bone-in chicken             thighs and    drumsticks, skin          removed ½ cup Dijon mustard 1 clove garlic, minced ¼ cup maple syrup ¼ teaspoon oregano 1.    Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. 2.    Combine the mustard, garlic, maple syrup, and oregano in a small bowl. 3.    Spread the mustard mixture evenly on top of each chicken thigh or drumstick, being careful to cover as much of the surface as possible to form a crust.

By any modern standard for great Italian dining, Tony's Baltimore Grill in Atlantic City is past its prime, from the Formica and red vinyl '60s decor to the mushy spaghetti still loved by silver-haired patrons who've been regulars for much of this tavern's 85 years. Tony's sausage pizza, though, is timeless, even if in our gourmet-pizza craze, it also looks like an out-of-fashion relic. Cooked in classic ring pans that recall the lids of old pretzel tins Tony's once used, the nearly crustless rounds of yeasty soft dough evoke the simpler tastes of the 1920s.

For eight weeks, sharpshooters have culled 429 deer from Fairmount Park. The huge and hungry deer population has been a threat to other plant and animal life, since their numbers far exceed the park's ability to sustain them, a fact lost on local animal-rights activists. As a public service, we provide the following recipe for venison stew: 2 lb venison 3 lg onions, coarsely chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 tb Worcestershire sauce 1 bay leaf 1 teaspoon dried oregano 7 potatoes, peeled and quartered 1 lb carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces 1/4 c all-purpose flour Heat 2 T of oil in Dutch oven.

From the time he was barely able to walk, Barry Ballister spent many of his early years behind the family fruit and vegetable stand. After a career in advertising, Ballister, now 52, returned to his roots and opened Sunfrost Farms, a popular roadside stand and lunch stop in Woodstock, N.Y. Ballister has watched the old-time "fruit men" die off, leaving empty stores, children with college degrees and no one to pass on the knowledge of how to...

This new column spotlights some of the Philadelphia region's most popular restaurant dishes. "Empanadas are a national passion in Argentina," says Guillermo Pernot, chef-owner of the hot Nuevo Latino restaurant Pasion! The savory, single-serving pastry turnovers stuffed with meat, vegetable or cheese filling are a mainstay not only in Pernot's homeland but throughout South America. They have "as many variations and fillings as American sandwiches," he says. Pernot serves several kinds of empanadas at Pasion!

Is there a doctorer in the house? It wouldn't be surprising. Take Society Hill's Julie Liedman, for example. She says her family (one husband, one daughter, two sons) tell her, "You make the best spaghetti sauce in the world. No one makes it better. " In fact, she doesn't make it at all. "What I do is buy a jar of sauce and doctor it," says Liedman. "I've made my own sauce starting with fresh tomatoes and it didn't taste nearly as good. " Mary Lou Rittenhouse of Glenside says her husband, Chuck, and son, Charlie, 14 months, think her spaghetti dinners made with store-bought sauce are just fine, even though, in the doctoring department, "putting some cheese on top is as extravagant as I get. " If you, too, "make" your pasta sauce by buying a commercially made brand and then adding an ingredient or two (or six)

Warm autumn weather notwithstanding, the summer growing season is over. But there is one harvest that keeps right on growing, adding summer freshness and flavor to healthy low-calorie meals all winter. The crop can be grown indoors on a sunny windowsill; all you need is some plants or seed packets and packaged soil, and you're in business. We're talking about fresh herbs. Despite their intense flavor and fragrance, herbs are virtually calorie- free. You could leave a thousand calories' worth of oil out of your favorite spaghetti sauce and you'd probably never miss it - but omit .0001 calories' worth of oregano or basil and it just wouldn't taste right!

For the past four or five years, I've been more and more inspired by the East Philadelphia gardeners, many of whom come from the Caribbean countries, some of whom come from Pacific Island nations and all of whom are terrific gardeners who grow semi-tropical crops. They grow stuff I can't even name in English much less in botany. Two weeks ago I even had to call the University of Puerto Rico to find out the English and botanic names of the herbs used in recao, an herb mixture used to season sofrito, an herb and vegetable sauce that is used in practically every Puerto Rican dish.

IS IT POT OR A POT OF PASTA? ARKANSAS WANTS TO KNOW Cooking a pot of spaghetti could land you in hot water in Arkansas. Seems a bill in the state House of Representatives would make it a felony to create, deliver or possess "counterfeit" marijuana. Under the proposal, coupled with definitions in current law, a person could be arrested if the "counterfeit substance" looked like marijuana and was packaged in a manner normally used for delivery of the drug - usually a plastic bag. Conviction could bring a sentence of three to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

South Jersey has been blessed with several superb new Italian restaurants recently; unfortunately, daVinci's, a small shopping-mall restaurant outside Medford, is not one of them. Despite advertisements that boast of "gourmet Italian cuisine," the food at a recent visit to this two-year-old restaurant was nothing to brag about; indeed, there seems to be good reason the place is not widely known. Dinner began nicely enough with two decent homemade soups. Tasty spring vegetable ($1.50)

Makes 5 servings 10 bone-in chicken             thighs and    drumsticks, skin          removed ½ cup Dijon mustard 1 clove garlic, minced ¼ cup maple syrup ¼ teaspoon oregano 1.    Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. 2.    Combine the mustard, garlic, maple syrup, and oregano in a small bowl. 3.    Spread the mustard mixture evenly on top of each chicken thigh or drumstick, being careful to cover as much of the surface as possible to form a crust.

By any modern standard for great Italian dining, Tony's Baltimore Grill in Atlantic City is past its prime, from the Formica and red vinyl '60s decor to the mushy spaghetti still loved by silver-haired patrons who've been regulars for much of this tavern's 85 years. Tony's sausage pizza, though, is timeless, even if in our gourmet-pizza craze, it also looks like an out-of-fashion relic. Cooked in classic ring pans that recall the lids of old pretzel tins Tony's once used, the nearly crustless rounds of yeasty soft dough evoke the simpler tastes of the 1920s.

Gardeners have gone bonkers over herbs these last few years, and no wonder. They're so easy to grow, they look great just about anywhere, and they're useful. On a warm summer night, few things top a trip out back for a handful of basil, oregano, or chives while the pasta's cooking. (Well, maybe a trip to pick tomatoes.) Better Homes and Gardens is known for its super-simple guides to growing stuff, whether orchids, roses, perennials, or vegetables. Herb Gardening ($19.99)

For eight weeks, sharpshooters have culled 429 deer from Fairmount Park. The huge and hungry deer population has been a threat to other plant and animal life, since their numbers far exceed the park's ability to sustain them, a fact lost on local animal-rights activists. As a public service, we provide the following recipe for venison stew: 2 lb venison 3 lg onions, coarsely chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 tb Worcestershire sauce 1 bay leaf 1 teaspoon dried oregano 7 potatoes, peeled and quartered 1 lb carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces 1/4 c all-purpose flour Heat 2 T of oil in Dutch oven.

This new column spotlights some of the Philadelphia region's most popular restaurant dishes. "Empanadas are a national passion in Argentina," says Guillermo Pernot, chef-owner of the hot Nuevo Latino restaurant Pasion! The savory, single-serving pastry turnovers stuffed with meat, vegetable or cheese filling are a mainstay not only in Pernot's homeland but throughout South America. They have "as many variations and fillings as American sandwiches," he says. Pernot serves several kinds of empanadas at Pasion!

As durable at age 81 as the "unbreakable" Ajax combs that hang on the wall, Freda Hirsch glides on sneakers between the meat slicer and six waiting rolls in a whirl of sprinkled peppers and oregano, scanning the countertop for the misplaced order. "I do this all the time," says the proprietor of Hirsch's Market, finally finding the list of hoagie requests under a block of mozzarella. After 49 years of practice, she rarely forgets an order, but she keeps regular customers' requests taped to the back of the cigarette machine just in case: Jessie's boyfriend gets tomato and lettuce; the Phoenix Lumber man likes oregano; and the cousin of New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza gets mayo, lettuce, no onions and oregano.

Is there a doctorer in the house? It wouldn't be surprising. Take Society Hill's Julie Liedman, for example. She says her family (one husband, one daughter, two sons) tell her, "You make the best spaghetti sauce in the world. No one makes it better. " In fact, she doesn't make it at all. "What I do is buy a jar of sauce and doctor it," says Liedman. "I've made my own sauce starting with fresh tomatoes and it didn't taste nearly as good. " Mary Lou Rittenhouse of Glenside says her husband, Chuck, and son, Charlie, 14 months, think her spaghetti dinners made with store-bought sauce are just fine, even though, in the doctoring department, "putting some cheese on top is as extravagant as I get. " If you, too, "make" your pasta sauce by buying a commercially made brand and then adding an ingredient or two (or six)

IS IT POT OR A POT OF PASTA? ARKANSAS WANTS TO KNOW Cooking a pot of spaghetti could land you in hot water in Arkansas. Seems a bill in the state House of Representatives would make it a felony to create, deliver or possess "counterfeit" marijuana. Under the proposal, coupled with definitions in current law, a person could be arrested if the "counterfeit substance" looked like marijuana and was packaged in a manner normally used for delivery of the drug - usually a plastic bag. Conviction could bring a sentence of three to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

It may have started, say police, when a bag of oregano changed hands in late November near 62d and Market Streets in West Philadelphia. It led, in the span of 48 hours, in separate incidents on the same block, to the death of one man and the severe beating of another. Now two men from the suburbs, who police say were chance acquaintances, are charged with murder. And two men from West Philadelphia, who knew each other for years, face various charges in the beating. All four have court dates this month.

We've enjoyed making flavored vinegars over the years. Memories of pantries filled with dusty bottles of herbed vinegars from our grandmothers' days got us thinking. Not only could they liven up salad dressings, but they could enhance the flavors in many dishes, eliminating the need for higher-fat sauces. The difference between our vinegars and Grandma's? They have been modernized with infusions of fragrant herbs, ginger and hot peppers, some of which would have set off Grandma's peptic ulcer.